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Conveyor system
The conveyor system is a game mechanic allowing items to be easily moved either manually or automatically from one inventory on a ship or station to another. A network can be created by connecting any block with an inventory panel to another such block using any combination of the following: Manual transfers Once two inventories have been connected within the conveyor system, items can be transferred. The player can access inventories from any inventory or control panel. Then they can manually drag items directly from one inventory to another without having to physically carry the items. So long as the conveyor blocks are powered, the transfer is instantaneous. If the blocks are unpowered or the destination inventory does not accept that type of item, it will not allow the transfer. Automatic transfers When connected in a conveyor network, some blocks will automatically send requests either to pull items from other inventories or to send their own items for storage elsewhere. Additionally, blocks with inventories are flagged to either accept or decline these requests, depending on their type.1 An will pull items from the network when it needs input materials to do a job. It will also push items from its output to another inventory if it starts to get full. Its input inventory is flagged to accept material items that other blocks are pushing into the network. Similarly, its output is flagged to supply component items that other blocks are requesting. A will push items from its output once it starts to get full. Its input is flagged to accept ore items that other blocks are pushing into the network. Similarly, its output is flagged to supply material items that other blocks are requesting. Ship and will push items they collect into the network. The inventory is flagged to supply any items that other blocks are requesting. A ship will pull the items it needs for a job from the network. Its inventory is flagged to accept component items that other blocks are pushing into the network. and will pull from the network when they run low. They are flagged to accept Uranium Ingots that other blocks are pushing into the network. The various turrets and ship weapons pull ammunition from other inventories when they run low. They are flagged to only accept their respective ammo types when other blocks are pushing into the network. Transfers between ships and stations The conveyor system can be connected to a few special blocks which allow players to easily transfer items from one ship or station to another: and , when turned on, will pull items from any inventory which is flagged to supply its requests. It then throws its contents into space, where the items can be picked up. will catch items floating in space and push them into the network. Its inventory is flagged to supply any items that other blocks are requesting. Using these in combination, two ships that are aligned or docked properly can transfer items with minimal effort. While Ejectors and Connectors can't be directly told which items to move and which to ignore, there are ways to limit what cargo they toss. #They will only take items from inventories that are flagged to supply requests, so items in other inventories will be safe. Materials in an Assembler and fuel in a Reactor, for example, will be left where they are. #They cannot access inventories that are simply not a part of the network. Transfer items you want to keep onboard into one container, then disable any conveyor blocks attached to it with a Grinder. The blocks will have to be repaired after the transfer, of course. #Using Conveyor Sorter player can whitelist/blacklist items that should or shouldn't be pushed to ejector. Small ships Small ships have a conveyor system that is identical to large ships and stations, but they also have a scaled-down version. The small system will only transport the small items on the following list: *Ores *Materials * * * * * * * * Small conveyor systems have the advantage of forming to small ships designs more easily and have a much smaller profile, and are frequently used on mining ships (owing to the having the three small ports) and fighters with (also fed with ammo through a small port; are reloaded manually). Large systems on a small ship tend to really increase the profile of the ship, but are unavoidable when they must be able to transport large parts, for example on ships with or . Because most of its pieces are 3x3x3 blocks, the large conveyor system can have trouble with 1 and 2 block gaps. The was provided to help span these gaps, allowing the system to more easily adapt to a variety of ship designs. Large and small conveyor systems can be used on the same ship. However they are of different sizes, so they cannot connect directly to one another. Some blocks, such as the , have ports for both the large and small system. This can be noted by the size of the ports (doors and hatches) on the blocks. Category:Game mechanics